Airbus delivered 46 aircraft to 30 customers in July. These included 40 single-aisles: 20 A321neos, 14 A320neos, one A319neo (for a private customer) and five A220-300s. From its widebody lines, Airbus delivered five A350-900s (three to Turkish Airlines and two to Air China) and an A330-300 (to lessor Altavair), the airframer's latest order and delivery data shows. The European airframer received 401 orders during the month. The largest was an order for 100 aircraft (68 A321neos and 32 A320neos) from China Eastern Airlines. China Southern Airlines ordered nine A319neos, 23 A320neos and 64 A321neos, while Air China ordered five A319neos, nine A320neos and 50 A321neos. EasyJet placed an order for 56 A320neos, Shenzhen Airlines for 18 A320neos and 14 A321neos, and Delta Air Lines for 12 A220-300s. LATAM Airlines Group placed an order for 17 A321neos. American Airlines, Jet2 and Spirit Airlines ordered four, three and five A321neos, respectively. Additionally, Airbus received an order for 10 A321neos from an undisclosed customer. Turkish Airlines placed an order for two A350-900s. Meanwhile, four A350-900 orders from Aeroflot were deleted from the airframer's backlog. In December 2021, Airbus recorded two A350-900 deliveries to Aeroflot but the aircraft could not be transferred to the Russian carrier because of international sanctions. Nine A350-900 orders from Aeroflot remain in Airbus's backlog. Ethiopian Airlines switched four A350-900 orders to the larger -1000 variant. The African carrier has another two A350-900s on order.

American Airlines expects to take delivery of its first Boeing 787 of 2022 as early as 10 August following delivery resumptions announced by the Federal Aviation Administration. The 787-8 delivery (MSN 66000) will be the Fort Worth-based carrier's first since April 2021, it says in a statement shared. The widebody will be delivered from Charleston and American expects it to enter commercial service "in the coming weeks". In a statement, the FAA said: "Boeing has made the necessary changes to ensure that the 787 Dreamliner meets all certification standards. The FAA will inspect each aircraft before an airworthiness certificate is issued and cleared for delivery. We expect deliveries to resume in the coming days." Following the delivery of MSN 66000, American will have 47 active 787 family aircraft in its fleet with an additional 42 on order, according to the airline. It manages most of its 787s itself, while nine are managed by lessors, including four -8s by BOC Aviation and five -9s by ORIX Aviation. Boeing paused 787 deliveries in June 2021 and has since been working with the FAA to address manufacturing issues for those aircraft.

Cathay Pacific has welcomed the Hong Kong government's decision to reduce the Covid-19-related hotel quarantine period for all arrivals to three days, starting 12 August. Under the new arrangement, the seven-day hotel quarantine requirement will be changed to three days in a quarantine hotel plus four days of home or hotel medical surveillance, during which time travellers will be allowed outside but restricted from certain activities, Hong Kong's chief executive John Lee said during an 8 August press conference. Cathay says these adjustments will help facilitate travel into Hong Kong for passengers. The carrier adds that it is also urging the government to "urgently provide a clear roadmap showing the complete removal of all Covid-related restrictions for aircrew and passengers as soon as is feasible to protect Hong Kong's international aviation hub status".
Medical surveillance of four days can take place either at home or hotels, Lee said. While undergoing four days of medical surveillance, passengers will be allowed to go out. However, they will be restricted from entering places where there is active checking of vaccine passes, such as bars, pubs and restaurants. In addition, "they cannot enter elderly homes for people with disabilities, schools and specified medical premises," he said. "They cannot participate in any activities where masks are to be taken off, and if they attain daily negative results they can take public transportation to go to work, to enter shopping malls or public markets," Lee notes. Under the three days plus four days arrangement, passengers confirmed with Covid-19 will be given a red code and they will not be allowed to leave the place of isolation. Others will be given a yellow code "in order for the authorities to control their activities during the medical surveillance period", he adds. Hong Kong and China maintain some of the strictest Covid-19 restrictions in the world, as part of China's "dynamic zero-Covid" policy.